What are your views on South Yorkshire buses?

[poppycat]

The bus services to Deepcar and Stocksbridge must be one of the worst. I live near the terminus for the 58(2 buses an hour) also the 57(2 buses an hour), 201(meadowhall 1 bus an hour) also a super tram link bus to middlewood pass my road. the problem is the 57 & 58 leave within 5 mins of one another then we have a 1/2 hour wait, there as been times usually evenings when they don't turn up. The stagecoach service to Barnsley changed in July and its really bad now. The first week in sept 3 buses didn't turn up also when my son finishes college at 4 o clock the next bus home is at 5.45 so he gets home about 7pm as the journey time is over 1 hour.

[GrooveArmada]

Last time i was on a bus was 15 years ago

But the view i have at present is they should not pull out and indicate at the same time infront of drivers

[Vague_Boy]

But the view i have at present is they should not pull out and indicate at the same time in front of drivers

 

My mate at First Rotherham takes the view that his bus is bigger than your car, probably most other bus drivers feel the same way.

 

(As a confirmed pedestrian, I'm not siding with bad driving practices BTW.)

[Brunette]

They're expensive (£1.20 from Broomhill to town??!!).

They're uncomfortable (I have long legs, and the seats are too close together).

They drive erratically (pulling out without signalling, screeching to a halt at bus stops so that you have to hang on for dear life).

Most (not all) of the drivers are sullen and rude.

And I guess the one thing that bus companies can't do anything about it that they are invariably full of other people LOL! One bus load of people will consist of the lovely normal majority, plus someone with the flu, someone who smells awful, someone playing tinny music on their mobile phone, and a few youths who swear too much.

[Greengeek]

I used to live in Greystones, and we had the number 83/84 (changed to 83a).

You couldn't rely on it to get to work. It was once an hour if you were lucky.

Sometimes you'd be there waving like a goon to get the driver to stop and he'd rock on by.

 

I got a car, and can't remember the last time I got the peasant wagon after that.

[Neutral body]

Thanks to the op for giving people with no knowledge of the operational side of buses to vent their spleens and demonstrate their complete ignorance. Where would we be without these opportunities.

Fares are generally competetive given the high cost of bus operation and the need for constant investment in new stock. Buses are generally reliable given the state of the road network and the people who use it. Drivers attitudes are tempered by years of dealing with the likes of people who have posted comments on this thread.

Some of the drivers manage to rise above this but they are the exception and as a result tend to stand out. This in itself is not good because most employers do not like employees who stand out and often do not know how to treat them or even recognise their value. This resulted in the recent strike action by drivers on First. Did the public support them? No. They lambasted them. In short the public have a better service than they deserve from staff that are generally good and companies that Genarally offer a reasonable service. WWOBB are stuck in the past, when bus use nationally was higher and car ownership was lower. Fares were lower but so were wages, fuel costs, vehicle costs etc., vehicles were less complex and therefore cheaper, and the public in general had more respect for staff in all service industries. The public at large voted for de-regulation and privatisation of the bus industry and they have now got what they voted for.

I would suggest that if WWOBB are in any way serious they buy a bus and have a go at running a service. I predict that a) they would never do so as they only want to moan but have no concept of whats involved, or, b) they would never get it off the ground as they can talk the talk but almost certainly could never walk the walk.

Come on, put up or shut up.

[AndrewC]

I'm not sure I agree with all of what neutral body is saying ^^ but I would like to add that I see a few comments on here begin "I've only used the bus twice in the last 15 years" before going into some sweeping general statement about how terrible all bus services are.

[fozzybear210]

Thanks to the op for giving people with no knowledge of the operational side of buses to vent their spleens and demonstrate their complete ignorance. Where would we be without these opportunities.

Fares are generally competetive given the high cost of bus operation and the need for constant investment in new stock. Buses are generally reliable given the state of the road network and the people who use it. Drivers attitudes are tempered by years of dealing with the likes of people who have posted comments on this thread.

Some of the drivers manage to rise above this but they are the exception and as a result tend to stand out. This in itself is not good because most employers do not like employees who stand out and often do not know how to treat them or even recognise their value. This resulted in the recent strike action by drivers on First. Did the public support them? No. They lambasted them. In short the public have a better service than they deserve from staff that are generally good and companies that Genarally offer a reasonable service. WWOBB are stuck in the past, when bus use nationally was higher and car ownership was lower. Fares were lower but so were wages, fuel costs, vehicle costs etc., vehicles were less complex and therefore cheaper, and the public in general had more respect for staff in all service industries. The public at large voted for de-regulation and privatisation of the bus industry and they have now got what they voted for.

I would suggest that if WWOBB are in any way serious they buy a bus and have a go at running a service. I predict that a) they would never do so as they only want to moan but have no concept of whats involved, or, b) they would never get it off the ground as they can talk the talk but almost certainly could never walk the walk.

Come on, put up or shut up.

 

 

At last someone who knows what they are on about. If you don't like the buses then dont use them. Until you know how the public transport system works then keep your opinions to yourselves. And well done to the OP for sparking a big debate on something people know nothing about

[AndrewC]

^^ Fozzybear, I certainly think you and Neutral Body are right when you say a lot of people forget that services are difficult to run but I wouldn't disregard their opinions as quickly as you seem to be doing - whether they're right or wrong surely bus companies need to listen to what these potential costumers are saying?

[TeaFan]

At last someone who knows what they are on about. If you don't like the buses then dont use them. Until you know how the public transport system works then keep your opinions to yourselves. And well done to the OP for sparking a big debate on something people know nothing about

 

No sorry, this is cobblers. Neutral Body is suggesting that unless we've had a go at running a bus company we can't complain. By the same token if a hospital has a much higher than average death rate, we can't complain unless we've had a go at hospital management??

 

Also,

Drivers attitudes are tempered by years of dealing with the likes of people who have posted comments on this thread.

Bus drivers work with the public. I've worked with the public all my working life and although they can sometimes be a challenge or a pain most people are fine, and to put it simply if your job involves working with the public and you can't hack it, you're in the wrong job.

 

And to suggest that the service is about as good as can be expected, I take it that neither you nor Neutral Body have ever lived in London, where the bus service is cheaper and much better. I accept that that's not so much to do with the operators as it is with the fact that buses in London are not de-regulated. But isn't re-regulation what WWOBB are calling for?

 

Finally, "if you don't like the buses don't use them"? Really, what do you think the roads would be like if everyone drove instead?